Sarah Kanger named Miss Bridgman 2007

November 15, 2006|KATE SHERIDAN Tribune Correspondent

BRIDGMAN -- The bright lights of Broadway lit up the Bridgman High School auditorium Saturday night. And when the pageant concluded, 17-year-old Sarah Kanger, a Bridgman High School senior, was crowned Miss Bridgman 2007. Just moments earlier, she also had accepted the crown as the pageant's 2007 Miss Congeniality. Sarah will be joined on the court this year by two other Bridgman High School seniors -- Erica Eddy, 17, first runner-up; and Emily Kellis, 17, second runner-up. The new queen, daughter of Thomas and Susan Kanger of Bridgman, will represent the community at the 2007 Miss Blossomtime Pageant on March 5 at the LMC Mendel Center. Sarah stands 5-foot-8 with blue eyes and brown hair. For her formal presentation, Kanger wore a strapless, lime-green mermaid-style gown accented by silver beads and sequins. At Bridgman High, she's an honor roll student who also is active in many extra-curricular activities. She was the first-place winner in the Lead America Forensic Science competition, and a first-place winner in the DECA marketing state finals competition. She's a member of DECA, the yearbook staff, the writing club, Interact and SADD, and she serves on the prom and homecoming committees. She's employed at the Scarlet Macaw Community Art Center in Sawyer. After graduation, Sarah plans to attend Lake Michigan College to study forensics before transferring to a four-year college to earn her bachelor's degree toward a career working for a federal agency. She'll receive a $200 scholarship for her pageant success, and $75 for taking the Miss Congeniality title. In addition, she won a $100 cash prize for selling the most "happy ads" in this year's pageant program. First runner-up Erica Eddy is the daughter of Robert and Nicholi Eddy of Bridgman. She stands 5-foot-7 and has brown hair and brown eyes. At school, she's involved in softball, basketball, poms, track, volleyball and powder-puff sports. She'll use her $75 scholarship toward enrollment at Michigan State University, where she'll study to become an osteopathic physician. She made her formal presentation in a red strapless A-line gown with embroidered accents. Second runner-up Emily Kellis is an honor roll student and active in the choir and drama club. The daughter of Michael Kellis and Maureen Mcgrew, she stands 5-foot-3 with brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a powder blue halter-top V-neck gown with opalescent beading and an open back. She'll use her $75 scholarship toward an engineering degree from Western Michigan University. Emily also took home a $100 cash prize for selling the most business advertisements in the pageant's program book. Also a winner Saturday night was Alexandra Mojsiejenko, 18, a Bridgman High School senior. She earned a $100 cash prize for selling the most tickets to the evening's festivities. Other contestants included Bridgman High School seniors Savanna Cleveland, Traci Allen and Gina Grosso. Judges for the evening were Peggy Perkins, Steve Nash and Mike Ryan. Escorts included Todd Hendricks, Alex Ottusch, Phillip Beltz and Craig McNees. The escorts joined "The Bridgman Boys" -- Jake Jones, Blake Ivers, Travis Zelmer, Dan Ponegalek and Luke Andrason -- in a lively onstage dance routine to "Sexy Mama." Also providing entertainment were the contestants, who performed "On Broadway," choreographed by Miss Galien 2005, Paige Olney. Olney, a Bridgman High graduate, also performed a modern dance to "Broken Road." Co-emcees for the night were Hunter Wright and Kaleigh Fowler, of Stevensville. Pageant directors were Cheri Fowler and Arleigh Fowler. More than 450 people gathered to cheer on the seven contestants. The theme was "A Night in the New York Lights."